Role Players in the Bidding Environment

The Bidding environment in Namibia has the following players:

The Government is the biggest buyer of goods and services in Namibia and with the introduction of the Procurement Act 15 of 2015, all purchases within the government are done through the policies, strategies and guidelines stipulated in the act. The main objective of the act is to streamline government procurement in order to create a competitive environment that will allow the procurement of quality goods and services at the best price the market can offer in a transparent process that will give all market players equal opportunity.

All companies big or small operating in Namibia will to at one point or another engage in the bidding process if they are to remain competitive as even small value purchases such as toner, water and other miscellaneous purchases are done through a formal process as stipulated in the act.

Government Ministries, agencies and SOE’s are guided by the Procurement Act 15 of 2015 through which the central procurement board was formed. Many private buyers and NGO’s however have their own preferred method of procurement, guided by company policies, government regulations and other factors.

Though the requirements, processes may vary from company to company or institution to institution the underlying guidelines used and the best practice are those of the Procurement Act and therefore very similar.

Popular Tendering Categories in Namibia

• Construction-Roads, Buildings, Civil and Structural Projects
• Consultancy services ((Project management-architectural, engineering, etc.)Content development, strategy, etc.)
• Renovation
• Professional Services (Auditing, Accounting, Legal, business, etc.)
• Stationery and Office Supplies
• Installation and servicing of air cons
• Financial Services (insurance, medical aid, pension funds)
• Electrification and related services
• Security services, cleaning services, plumping
• Mining services
• Supply or vehicles and vehicle parts
• Health and pharmaceuticals

Can you think of other popular categories?

Popular Buyers

• Procurement Board of Namibia: All purchases by government ministries or agencies above the threshold prescribed for public entities are done through the central procurement board.
• GIZ
• Mines
• Municipalities, Regional and Local Authorities
• Government Ministries (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Industrialization, Ministry of Finance…)
• MTC
• DBN
• Central Bank of Namibia
• Banks: First National Bank, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank, etc
• Namcor
• Nampower
• NTA
• Cran
• SACU
• UNAM
• NUST
• City of Windhoek
• Dundee
• Namibia Post and Telecommunications Company
• Electricity Control Board
• NAC

Can you think of other popular buyers?

Challenges faced by the player’s within the procurement space in Namibia

Buyers

• Disqualification of more experienced bidders due to strict disqualification guidelines, e.g, a much more experienced bidder can be disqualified due to an uncertified identity document of one of the owners
• Slower lead time in the procurement of goods due to the various stages, conditions and approvals each bidding process takes.
• Lack of training on the use of the procurement act and its practical application within the government

Sellers

• Costly: The cost of acquiring tendering documents and the preparation of bids can be costly, smaller firms with smaller to no marketing budget are therefore excluded from the process
• Lengthy and sometimes confusing documentation
• Competition from bigger organizations and international firms who benefit from economies of scale pose a threat to the competitiveness of smaller companies. They are then forced to submit unrealistic bids which can impact their ability to provide the products or services as per the contract.
• Lack of skills within organizations in bid preparation which leads to disqualification of bids

Until the introduction of the new Procurement Act tendering was perceived as the domain of the corrupt and connected businessmen, politicians and companies. Government could procure services directly from service providers and bigger and well established businesses did not see the need to tender. However, the act has levelled the playing field and all businesses big and small, briefcase or not are undertaking the bidding process.

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